Some executives of the third-party consulting company iResearch, including chairman Yang Weiqing, lost contact.iResearch issued a statement on September 19, saying that individual management personnel of the company should assist in the investigation at the request of relevant departments, and cannot be contacted for the time being.

Recently, it has been reported in the market that several senior executives of iResearch have lost contact, including chairman Yang Weiqing and CTO Hao Xincheng.A Caixin reporter tried to contact Yang Weiqing on September 19, but received no response.The latest news about Yang Weiqing's WeChat circle of friends was released on September 13, and no further news was released in the follow-up.

iResearch did not disclose why the executives assisted in the investigation, only saying that the company will actively cooperate with the investigation and that everything is currently operating normally.

According to public information, Yang Weiqing and Zhang Xin jointly funded the establishment of iResearch Consulting in 2002 with a registered capital of 500,000 yuan. The main business is to provide data and consulting services for the Internet industry and companies.In 2008, iResearch was sold to Focus Media for US$9 million.In 2011, Yang Weiqing began to repurchase shares, and until the end of 2015, he became the actual controller of iResearch Consulting again.According to iResearch, Yang Weiqing currently directly or indirectly holds 43.76% of the company's voting rights.

In January 2018, iResearch applied for listing on the NEEQ.According to the public transfer prospectus, in the first three quarters of 2015, 2016, and 2017, iResearch’s operating income was 192 million yuan, 172 million yuan, and 133 million yuan; net profits were 31.36 million yuan, 17.65 million yuan, and 15.08 million yuan.ten thousand yuan.

Data business is the main source of income for iResearch. In 2015, 2016, and the first three quarters of 2017, the data industry revenue accounted for 55.75%, 60.31%, and 53.88% of the total revenue, respectively.The contribution of customized consulting and research business to the main income has increased significantly. In 2015, 2016, and the first three quarters of 2017, this business accounted for 35.43%, 34.06%, and 41.68% respectively.

In the past three years, Tencent and iQiyi have been among the top five clients of iResearch. In addition, Youku and LeEco have entered the list of the top five clients of iResearch in 2015.Among them, Tencent has been iResearch's largest customer for three consecutive years. In 2015, 2016, and the first three quarters of 2017, iResearch's total sales from Tencent were 5.9601 million yuan, 4.489 million yuan, and 5.3393 million yuan.

It is worth noting that Yang Weiqing and his controlled Gongqingcheng Kaiying and Jiaxing Kaiying and Qingdao Haier, Qianyi Wutong, Shunxin Renhui, Weirdi, Chuangshi Renhe, Dingxing Quantum, Xinding Investment, ChunhuajingUp to 8 institutions have signed an agreement, agreeing that iResearch should complete the IPO or NEEQ listing no later than December 31, 2019, otherwise the founder or transferor of the company must repurchase the equity according to the conditions stipulated in the agreement.

As of the end of January 2018, iResearch had 34 shareholders.In July 2016, Gongqingcheng Kaiying, controlled by Yang Weiqing, transferred the 39.13% equity of iResearch to 24 investors. The valuation of this round was 990 million yuan: two months later, Gongqingcheng KaiyingThe 6.94% stake in iResearch Consulting will be transferred to 7 investment institutions including Xinyu Weirdi No. 1 Investment Management Center and Haier Investment.Among them, Haier Investment and Zhuhai Qianyi Indus invested the largest amount, each investing 30 million yuan.This round of financing is valued at 1.6 billion yuan.

The financing in July 2016 was based on the net profit in 2014 and the first half of 2015, and the financing in September 2016 was based on the net profit in 2015. The two rounds of financing were close in time but the valuation was significantly higher.According to iResearch, the net profit in 2015 was significantly higher than that in 2014, so the valuation has changed greatly.■